Edit This Favorite

In our series of giving brief details of great saints and leaders of our religion, we have given brief details of Acharya Ratnasundarji Maharajsaheb, the first Jain sadhu to be recognized with Padma Vibhushan by Govt of India.

JAINA recently launched a global Mobile App with amazing Jain content that you can access from anywhere at any time. Please download this App now – it takes only one minute. Enjoy incredible 700+ videos and audios about Jainism on your cell phone, laptop or TV. Details are below.

Sincerely,

Ashok Domadia
JAINA President & Chairman

2. QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Do not be in dread of the dreadful, the illness,the disease, the old age, and even the death or any other object of fear.

- Mahavira(Prasnavyakarana,7/20)

3. ACHARYA RATNASUNDARSURI MAHARAJ

He was born on 5th January, 1948 at Depla (Near Palitana, Gujarat). In spite of being a religious saint, he wrote many visionary books for the socio cultural upliftment of the individual as well as society at large.
Till today he has written more then 304 books in his mother tongue gujarati while travelling the length and breadth of India on foot covering lakhs of kilometers.
Many of his books have been translated into various languages such as English, Hindi,Marathi,Urdu,French etc. and more then 60 Lac copies of his books are spread throughout the nation.
Gurudev has also been presented with the most coveted "GOLDEN BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS AWARD" for most number of books authored by a person. He gives lectures on morality and spirituality based personality development.
Through his writings and speeches he has achieved success in bringing about positive and constructive changes in millions of people and that is why these millions of Indians follow his ideas.
Being a Jain saint, author follows very hard rules and regulations. He walks bare foot and has not taken bath since 1967, when he adopted Saintship which is called "DIKSHA" He does not eat and drink after sunset till sunrise.

Thus, he is not only an author or a lecturer but a motivator as well and teaches us that Discipline and Dedication can make you more Empowered.

In 2017, he was awarded Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award by Government of India for his contributuion in field of spirituality.

4. TAP - KAYA-KLESH

KAYA-KLESH TAP- Is the fifth bahya tap.

Kaya means body and Klesha means forbearance. Body is an instrument that is needed in good condition for undertaking spiritual sadhana and therefore, it is important to develop its endurance power. By developing physical endurance power, jiva is enabled to tolerate the bodily inconveniences with equanimity.
There are several ways one can practice the austerity of Kayaklesh;

3) SHAYAN : means lying down, this involves practicing karyotsarga, relaxation by experiencing that body aad soul are separate.4) ATAPANA : This requires standing steadily while facing the sun and bearing the heat of the sun.

5) APARAVARAN : This needs tolerating cold, specially in the winter season, without any or with few cloths on.6) SHARIR-PARITYAG : This involves putting on an exotic makeup on the body.

5. JAIN STORY : MAIRAVATI

(In part I, Mairavati’s father, Ritumardan ordered her to marry a leper. Read first part here: Part-1)

The princess had no hesitation. She slowly got down, and accepted this man as her wedded husband. Everybody in the court was stunned. The king felt satisfied for his actions. The princess was asked to remove her precious clothes, and jewelry, and was ordered to leave the city. Princess and her husband left the city.

The princess was as happy as usual. She never regretted for what she had told her father. She had full faith in her religious belief. They walked the whole day, and later in the evening, they took shelter in a temple. The leper was very compassionate to her. He said to her, "I know what your father did was not right and it is not easy for a royal girl to marry a leper. I free you from this marriage, and request you to find a better person." The princess told him…

6. JAIN CENTERS NEWS

JAIN SOCIETY OF NORTH TEXAS

Jain Society of North Texas hosted Bhagwan Mahavir Janma Kalyanak celebration on April 9th 2017 in Dallas, Texas. This Grand Celebration began at 9:00 am in the morning with poojas in both Digambar & Shwetamber Jinalayas.
Following the pujas, over 125 pathshala students from 5 Jain pathshala groups enthusiastically performed various skits, dances and parade promoting the message of Bhagwan Mahavir.
The audience participated in an exciting game of Jain Jeopardy hosted by the Pathshala kids. Adult performed an energetic dance on bhakti song. Pictures of all performances can be viewed at www.dfwjains.org

The evening cultural program had more than 300 participants who presented 16 programs.
Participants came from New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Long Island. The program was attended by 1500+ people making it one of the highest attended Mahavir Janma Kalyanak program.
This has all been made possible due to contribution and the community spirit of all the members and friends of JCA, who helped in making this a highly successful and memorable event.

We had numerous volunteers who helped in making this event successful, including cooking delicious lunch in our kitchen and serving to everyone.

The event was made truly memorable by the energy and excitement of the Pathshala students, volunteers and the attendees. The celebration was attended by over 1100 Jain community members.

Mahavir Jayanti 2017 was a great success for the Jain Center of Minnesota! We held a great culture program in which both children and adults displayed their talents and interpretation of Jainism.
We had acts ranging from drama skits to two Jain stavans played on the piano, violin, and even the trumpet! We also had our Youth Committee give a presentation on various important quotes Lord Mahavir said throughout his lifetime and how they apply them throughout their daily lives.
Overall, Mahavir Jayanti2017 with the Jain Center of Minnesota turned out to be a great place to discuss our Jain religion while having fun at the same time!

7. GANDHI - THE PHILOSOPHY OF NONVIOLENCE

8. KARMA THEORY

Why do some people are successful in life and others are not? Why some are rich and some are poor? Why do some suffer and other enjoys the life?
Why some children’s are good in studies and others are not? Why do some live longer while others die at a young age? Why some people are healthy and fit throughout the life and others suffer severe disease.

The answer to all of these questions is the effect of our karmas. The theory of karma explains the role that karma plays in our lives, how we accumulate karmas, and how we get rid of them.

At the time of bondage of karmas to the soul, four characteristics of karmas are decided. They are ;

Sand, sunshine and sessions! The 2017 YJA Northeast Retreat was full of engaging and thought-provoking sessions on topics such as the ethical dilemmas a young Jain faces and maintaining a Jain Way of Life in the workplace.
Attendees had non-stop fun this weekend from the very competitive dance-off to vegan cinnamon rolls and volleyball on Salisbury beach. If you couldn't make it to a YJA retreat this year, we would love to see you in 2018!

For a full listing of celebrations, and to see what local YJA events are happening near you year-round, visit the yja.org homepage.

11. CHILDREN'S CORNER

IMPORTANCE OF NAMOKAR MANTRA

Once, a man was going to the market. On the way, a hurt ox was lying there. Seeing the ox, the man became restless. He felt that the ox was about to die, so the man sat near it and began to recite the Namokar Mantra.
Hearing the Namokar Mantra, the heart of ox became calm and it died with good feelings. In the next birth it became the son of a King. There he got many palaces, beautiful cloths, ornaments, etc.
If an animal gets a good life by hearing the Namokar Mantra, then why will we not get the peace and happiness by reciting the Namokar Mantra? Everyday we should recite the Namokar Mantra to destroy our sins.